Boko Haram fighters ‘kill dozens in Nigeria town’

Suspected Boko Haram fighters have killed dozens of people, including many children, in a massacre in the northeastern Nigeria village of Njaba, security sources and witnesses have said.

The Reuters news agency cited security forces as saying that that at least 45 people were killed by members of the armed group in Borno state, while the AFP news agency reported a higher toll of 68 people.

“I participated in the counting of dead bodies. Sixty-eight people were killed,” witness Muminu Haruna told AFP after escaping the attack on Tuesday in the remote region.

Children were deliberately targeted for slaughter and most of Njaba was destroyed by fire, Haruna and three others said.

Njaba is close to the town of Damboa and about 100km south of the state capital Maiduguri.